


Glutton for Punishment

by falsteloj



Category: Young Dracula
Genre: Cheating, F/M, M/M, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-15
Updated: 2012-09-15
Packaged: 2017-11-14 07:32:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/512832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/falsteloj/pseuds/falsteloj
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which not everybody is on the same wavelength.</p><p>(I have a ton more YD stuff - you can find story summaries, etc, by clicking <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/512861/chapters/27201609">HERE</a>.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Glutton for Punishment

_"Yes, mum, I'm eating properly. No, mum, I'm not just saying that."_  
  
"Nietzsche says it's possible."  
"Nietzsche talks a lot of bollocks."  
  
"I was like, oh my God you're not being serious? And he was like, totally."  
"Oh my God! What did you say!"  
"I told him I'd have to think about it!"  
  
Vlad shook his head and pressed fingers to his temple, rapping on Robin's door with his other hand. Now he understood why isolated castles were the done thing. He could hear every conversation along the corridor, all underlined with the 'warpa warpa warpa' of someone playing bassline on the floor above. It reverberated around his skull and made him feel ill.  
  
Just when he thought he couldn't take a moment more of it, Robin opened the door, smiling widely at the sight of him. Suddenly it was as if he couldn't even hear anything, couldn't think of anything but the fact Robin was standing in front of him.  
  
Robin always had that effect.  
  
What was new was the realisation that he had the same effect on Robin.  
  
"I've missed you," Vlad said, trailing fingers up the exposed skin of Robin's forearm. A week ago he wouldn't have dared do such a thing, too afraid Robin would be disgusted and want nothing more to do with him. Now Robin just grinned and pressed him back against the closed door,  
  
"I bet you 'ave."  
  
The words were hot against the skin of Vlad's neck and Vlad shivered, sliding hands around Robin's waist and pulling him closer. Robin exhaled sharply, his own hands finding the hem of Vlad's T-shirt and trailing heated touches up his back.  
  
"You going to show me how much, then?"  
  
Later Vlad slumped back against Robin's pillows, watching as the other man wriggled back into his jeans.  
  
"You should just leave them off," he suggested. "Lie down with me for a bit."  
  
The thought made him feel stupidly happy. Perhaps he could even stay until just before dawn, and wake up with Robin wrapped in his arms. That was how he always wanted to wake up, he decided quickly.  
  
Robin shook his head, "Can't. I'm going out in," he snagged his shirt from the floor and looked at his watch, "twenty minutes."  
  
"Oh." Vlad tried not to let the disappointment show on his face. "Do you want me to come with you?"  
  
"Nah," Robin pulled a face and fussed with his hair in front of the mirror. "You wouldn't like it; it's not your scene." He turned to face him, "Lot's of people, loud music. You know."  
  
Vlad knew.  
  
He had gone once, when Robin was still new here, and the mask of arrogance he'd been wearing ever since he'd first met him was so cracked Vlad had been scared it was going to shatter completely. Robin was so vulnerable underneath he didn't think he'd last the week, let alone another two years.  
  
So they had ended up in a club, the pulse of the music in his ears warring with the pulse at Robin's jugular he could sense. It had been awful, bloodlust washing over him until he wasn't even aware of his own actions. If someone hadn't jarred him Robin wouldn't be going out either, and that was a fact.  
  
"Hey," Robin said then, taking note of his expression. The bed dipped as he sat, and warm fingers brushed against his cheek. "It's not like I don't want you there."  
  
"Yeah," Vlad managed, and was mortified at the way it sounded. Like he was hurt and upset and wanted Robin to reassure him over and over again. It might be how he felt, but Robin so did not need to know that.  
  
"Will you be in tomorrow?" He asked, thankful when his voice stayed level. "We could watch a film." Robin looked uncertain and Vlad went on hurriedly, before Robin could say no, "Or I could take you out, for a meal or something."  
  
Robin laughed, "You don't need to do that." He leaned in and kissed Vlad slowly, the slick swipe of his tongue making Vlad squirm all over again. Robin pressed one last chaste kiss to his lips and stood, "I'll be in all night tomorrow, promise."  
  
Vlad was already making plans.

* * *

 "And what are you so disgustingly happy about?" Ingrid sniped the following evening, just as he was putting the plan in to action.  
  
"Nothing," Vlad grinned. "Except for the fact I'm going to spend the night with my gorgeous boyfriend."  
  
Ingrid's lip curled in distaste, "Branagh is many things, but gorgeous is not one of them." She cocked her head to one side, as if in consideration. "Then again, for someone with standards as low as yours…"  
  
"Haha," Vlad said, deadpan. "You're just so hilarious, Ingrid."  
  
As he headed back towards the crypt, to collect his stuff, he heard her parting shot,  
  
"I know!"

* * *

 Vlad didn't like to just turn up in Robin's room. It seemed rude. And potentially dangerous. It would be kind of hard to explain it away if Robin had friends round. So, instead, he made for the densely packed tree surrounding Robin's halls of residence, and walked the rest of the way.  
  
He still couldn't believe that the excitement making his skin tingle, and his heart have a go at kickstarting, was actually justified. He'd walked the same path so many times before, the same feelings flooding through him just at the prospect of spending a few hours in Robin's company.  
  
That's what he'd been doing when their relationship had finally changed, progressed. Robin had put some awful film on, more soft porn than horror with dialogue so wooden it was matching the visible bulge in the leading man's trousers. The vampiress, all fake fangs and fake breasts, had been writhing around and Vlad had realised too late the effect it was having on him.  
  
It wasn't even as if the film was hot, it was just the combination of breathy moans and Robin's proximity. Robin had turned to look at him, mouth open to say something Vlad would never now find out, and he hadn't been able to resist. Had kissed him and kissed and kissed him, pressing Robin back against the narrow bed when he started kissing him in return.  
  
He had always imagined it would be awkward at first, that he wouldn't know what to do. But it had come naturally, Robin snaking a hand between them and making him gasp open mouthed into the crook of Robin's neck. Afterwards Robin had smiled at him dopily and said it made them best friends with benefits.  
  
When Vlad looked up he was already at the main entrance and he pushed down the corridor to Robin's room quickly, trying and failing to ignore the incessant noise.  
  
_"I just haven't got the time, mum. You know that."_  
  
"Surely Locke has a point though?"  
"That all depends on your interpretation."  
  
"So, right, he just comes right up to me and asks, have you thought about it yet?"  
"Oh my God!"  
"I know! And, the thing is, I'm totally considering it."  
"I say, go for it. Nobody even needs to know."  
  
Vlad didn't wait for Robin to shut the door behind them before kissing him. Robin blushed prettily and Vlad couldn't help but love him all the more for it,  
  
"I've brought food," he said, holding up the carrier bag he'd fetched with him. "And drink," he held up the other. "And I know you don't have any lectures tomorrow. So," he put the bags on Robin's bed and moved in close to him, until their lips were almost touching, "we don't need to leave this room for quite some time."  
  
If the way Robin's breath hitched as he dropped his head to suck at Robin's throat was anything to go by, Vlad thought he thoroughly approved of the idea.

* * *

 Over the next few weeks Vlad spent as much time at Robin's as he possibly could. Which, considering he had to head Council four nights a week and was, essentially, a prisoner during daylight hours, was nowhere near as much as he would have liked.  
  
Robin didn't take it personally or anything, for which he was glad. He hated the thought of Robin being upset with him. Now more than ever.  
  
"Will you stop smiling!" His chief advisor, a stern looking vampire by the name of Gregori, hissed one night a few weeks later, tapping one long fingernailed hand against the laminated list of Chamber rules:  
  
_No humming; No singing; No breathers (unless for refreshment); No hell hounds; No smiling._  
  
_Târgovişte thanks you for your cooperation_.  
  
Vlad did his best to school his face into a neutral expression and went right back to daydreaming about Robin. They'd been going out for nearly three months. In vampire terms it was time to bring him the blood of a virgin and ask for his hand. He didn't think Robin would appreciate that though.  
  
Or, he conceded, Robin might appreciate the virgin too much and Vlad would be forced to shed blood himself.  
  
The jealousy was genetic, he couldn't help it.  
  
Either way, he wasn't sure what the breather equivalent might be. It wasn't as if he'd ever actually dated one before. Delila didn't count. She had sneered at him and given him the push, and if that didn't have the hallmark of haughty vampiress all over it, he didn't know what did.  
  
Ingrid's example wasn't much use on that front either. She hadn't been seeing Will three months before she'd sank her fangs into his jugular and made him combustible in sunlight. Vlad really didn't think they were at that stage yet. Robin would only resent him once he realised how mind-numbingly boring daytime TV really was.  
  
The cooking of food you couldn't stomach, chat shows so dismal even a zombie would hold their nose up at them, and endless property shows.  
  
Vlad thought there was a reason why so many vampire stories revolved around relocating castles.  
  
The question occupied his attention all the way through the rest of the meeting, and by the time Minister's Questions rolled around, he was still no closer to an answer.

* * *

  _Mum, I've told you before. I'm perfectly capable of managing on my own."_  
  
"You're turning me into an existentialist."  
"I consider that a compliment."  
  
"I did it!"  
"No way! What was it like?"  
"Let's just say that, for a geek, he knows what he's doing."  
"Oh my God!"  
  
The shrill conversation grated on his nerves and Vlad knocked at Robin's door again, wanting to be further away from it. Robin wasn't wearing a shirt when he let him in, and his hair was all over the place. The bed was unmade and the curtains were drawn.  
  
"Have you been sleeping all day?" Vlad asked, taking it in with a frown. "You're not a vampire yet, you know!"  
  
Robin just grinned at him lazily in return. "I was just going to 'ave a shower. You can come with me if you want."  
  
Vlad thought that was the sort of offer you really couldn't refuse.  
  
"Can't we get into trouble for this?" Vlad asked when they reached the shower rooms, glancing up and down the corridor anxiously. Robin smirked,  
  
"Who's going to know?" Warm fingers wrapped around his wrist, and Vlad stopped resisting, stripping off and letting Robin push him under the spray of the shower. Who indeed?  
  
If he had it his way, Vlad thought as he raised livid bruises down the length of Robin's throat,  _everyone_.

* * *

It was around 4am when he got back to the castle and he could tell instantly that something was wrong. Really wrong, not just Ingrid on the warpath wrong. And that was bad enough.  
  
"There's been an… incident," Gregori told him once the formalities of bowing and 'Your Grandness'-ing had been got out of the way. Vlad didn't miss the hesitation in the man's voice.  
  
"What sort of incident?"  
  
It turned out the incident involved rebel vampires and Latvian warlocks and lots of innocent Hungarian children. He had to make statements, and address the Council, and attend top secret meetings with the Hungarian branch of the Slayer's Guild.  
  
Just the proximity of all those slayers was enough to give him nightmares.  
  
Combined with an hour or two of ceremonial staking, and being forced to go and watch the children's parents identify their bodies, Vlad didn't think he was ever going to sleep well again. When his presence was – finally – no longer required, he was proved right.  
  
He tossed and turned in his coffin, the fear in the eyes of the vampires the guild had rounded up flashing in his mind. The hissing, and the screaming, and all those lifeless little faces looking up at him.  
  
Finally, he couldn't take it any longer and, pausing only long enough to check it was dark out, went to see Robin.

* * *

It was much later than he usually arrived, and for once there was no bassline emanating from the second floor. He pushed the main door open carefully and made his way to Robin's room.  
  
Even the chatter in the corridor was gone, and Vlad tried to bang on the door relatively quietly. When there was no answer he tried again, louder. There was still nothing and, checking nobody was around, pressed his ear to the door.  
  
Silence.  
  
Robin must have gone out, he thought, swiping a hand across his face quickly to offset the stinging behind his eyelids. There was no way he could go back to his coffin. Instead he concentrated and got inside the way he really wasn't supposed to. He couldn't find it in him to care.  
  
Once inside he kicked his shoes off, loosened his cape, and fell into Robin's bed. It smelt like Robin – comforting – and he burrowed down into the blankets.  
  
Robin wouldn't mind him being there, he was sure of it.

* * *

It took him a moment to work out where he was. His mind felt slow and groggy, and he knew from the continued darkness that he couldn't have been asleep long. There was rattling at the door and then the flick of a light switch, the sudden brightness making Vlad squint.  
  
He almost wished it would have blinded him.  
  
"Oh my God!"  
  
He'd recognise that voice anywhere, and the one that followed it.  
  
"Vlad, what are you doing here!?"  
  
The girl had wound herself around Robin, and Vlad could see smears of lipstick across the marks he had left on Robin's throat.  
  
He felt sick.  
  
"He's a friend," Robin was murmuring. "Why don't you go back to your room and I'll be there in a minute, yeah?"  
  
She giggled and nodded and Vlad wasn't surprised to feel the tips of his fangs against his bottom lip.  
  
"Vlad, mate," Robin slurred, slumping down on the bed next to him, "she is fit. An' I am well in there."  
  
"You've been sleeping with her," Vlad said, more of a statement than a question. His voice sounded oddly hollow to his ears.  
  
Robin nodded, grinning dopily at him. "Couple of weeks now."  
  
It felt like static in his head, buzzing against his temples, merging with the anger and the tears making his throat ache. "But what about me?"  
  
Robin frowned, confused. "I can ask, but I don't know if she'll say yes."  
  
And that was it, like a switch snapping within him. He didn't know if it was the lack of sleep, or the smell of her perfume on Robin's skin, or just the marrow deep jealousy threatening to consume him, but Vlad had Robin pressed back against the wall and fangs bared in seconds.  
  
"That's not what I meant." It came out of his mouth as a snarl and Robin shrank back against the wall, eyes wide with understanding,  
  
"But you knew it wasn't anything serious, Vlad," Robin told him, voice wavering slightly. "You said so yourself, friends with benefits."  
  
Vlad had to clench his eyes tight shut or he'd have done something he was sure he'd later regret.  
  
"That's what you said."  
  
He could feel the panicked hammering of Robin's heart vibrating between them, and the buzzing in his head was growing worse. He wanted to kill, put a fist through the wall. Something. Anything.  
  
What he did was suck in unnecessary air and push himself away from the wall. Shove on his shoes and pick up his cape without once looking at Robin. Because, if he did, he wouldn't be able to control himself.  
  
"Vlad?" Robin tried, tentative, and still he refused to look back. "I thought you knew. I was sure you knew."  
  
He could hear excited chattering in the corridor, everyone wanting to know what the commotion was about. Vlad finally met Robin's gaze and didn't know whether he wanted to laugh or cry at the honesty written across his face. He just shook his head and clutched his cape tighter,  
  
"You thought wrong."

* * *

  _Of course I stayed out of it, mum. It's none of my business."_  
  
"He's got no chance. Once bitten, twice shy, that's what they say."  
"First time I've heard you talking sense, that."  
  
"I told him where to go, obviously."  
"Oh my God, I still can't believe it." __  
"How do you think I feel!"  
  
"If you get this message will you  _please_  just ring me back? Just to let me know you're okay? I'm so so sorry."  
  
Vlad pressed his forehead against the door, working up the nerve to knock. He shouldn't do this, it was stupid. He was stupid. Robin was definitely stupid. He heard Robin drop his phone, his own stopped trying to tell him he should answer it, and he raised his knuckles to the wood.  
  
He was just a glutton for punishment.

**Author's Note:**

> As ever, feel free to chat / hit me with prompts over on Tumblr [@serenwib](http://serenwib.tumblr.com/) or Twitter [@falsteloj](https://twitter.com/falsteloj). :)


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